Basketball Recap: Merced Skates Past Livingston with Ease

Bears

Previous 3 Games

12/30/24 @ Livingston	51-23
12/28/24 vs Orestimba	46-34
12/27/24 vs Hughson	54-25

Merced had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Monday. They really took it to the Livingston Wolves for the full four quarters, racking up a 51-23 win. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Bears just coasted through the last quarter.

Merced found their leader in sophomore Averie Steverson, who went 8 for 15 on her way to 18 points in addition to eight boards and eight steals. Steverson is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed three or more in the last six games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Violet Nunez, who went 5 of 11 on her way to 11 points and four steals.

Merced's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-7. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to assists: they averaged an imposing 6.57 assists in those games compared to only 6.57 in the others. As for Livingston, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-6.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Merced will welcome Antioch at 4:00 p.m. on January 9th. As for Livingston, they will look to defend their home court on Saturday against Pitman at 3:00 p.m.